Kendal22

Good luck, my shepherd had his surgery back in December. Missouri State is about to put Oklahoma State out of its own regional. IU won a series in Springfield this year. Columbia about to eliminate Gonzaga.

No problem for the Vols tonight. Medical issues for Russell per Tony Vitello's postgame.

Tennessee catcher Evan Russell is out tonight for the Vols. Tony Vitello will address his status after the game. Interesting.

I gotcha! Very surprised Ole Miss got into the tournament over NC State and maybe even Rutgers. Looks like a difficult weekend to try to play the Coral Gables Regional with a Tropical Storm incoming.

I am not. Don’t ever get on the Rivals site. Why?

I watched the end of that game. Vols were ridiculous for a few innings there. Big bounce back for Auburn last night and solidifies their hosting handing. If Mike Bianco is truly done at Ole Miss, Butch Thompson is at the top of the list. He's a Mississippi native and I'd love to see what he could do with the resources in Oxford.

Need to hit the portal and the JUCO circuit for veteran arms in the offseason. Offense should be in pretty decent shape with the young guys getting experience this year.

Starkville is a great place. Lemonis has really worked out well for them. At 8-10 in the SEC they are in decent spot to end up in a regional. The Bulldog bullpen is a little questionable to they are a really gritty team. I'm torn on Bianco, but 1 of 21 in getting to Omaha in a program that invests in baseball the way Ole Miss does is pretty damning.

Made my first trip to Oxford, Mississippi over the weekend for the finale of the Ole Miss - Mississippi State series. Incredible atmosphere for a team that has really struggled lately. It's something everyone should experience at some point. The Mike Bianco era at Ole Miss seems to be all but over at this point. He's slated to manage Team USA this summer. I wonder if anyone has ever managed Team USA is the same season they were fired from their college head coaching job?

8-4 Aces take this one. Nice rally in the ninth to make it closer.

7-1 UE. Worth noting that UE swept Michigan State over the weekend. No idea if MSU is any good.

Tennessee was outstanding this weekend. Should be the unquestionable number one. Ole Miss is much better than Tennessee made them look this weekend, but that was a really bad showing.

Ole Miss is shaking up the rotational order a bit this weekend Tonight - John Gaddis Senior LHP - Transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - Pretty much the definition of a college pitcher. Deferred medical school a year to come pitch in Oxford. Upper 80s fastball with a good change up as well. Command of fastball has been iffy last couple of starts. When that happens, Gaddis is very hittable. Saturday - Jack Dougherty Sophomore RHP - moves into the Saturday slot. Came on strong at the end of last year after spending most of the season as a potential redshirt. Best pure stuff in the rotation. Lower 90s fastball with good command and a sharp slider. Fiery competitor as well. Sunday - Derek Diamond Junior RHP - Moves from Saturday to Sunday after a couple shaky outings. Highly recruited kid who originally committed to Stanford. An issue with admissions caused him to end up in Oxford. This is his third year in the rotation, but he hasn't seemed to put it all together yet. Prone to having two-out walks or hits blow up on him and lead to big innings. Last year was touching 97 with the fastball but is now working in the low 90s and upper 80s. He's still crafty enough to get outs but there has been speculation Diamond isn't completely healthy for some time now.

Can't wait for this series. Atmosphere will be electric no doubt. Have a lot more questions about Ole Miss than Tennessee at this point. Not sure what the rotation will look like as it really struggled last weekend against Auburn outside of Jack Dougherty in game 3.

Crazy the amount of depth in that league. I don't think Ole Miss deserves # 1 at this point. Just too many questions once you get past the top 5-6 arms.

Vols come to Oxford next weekend. Should be a great matchup!

I found this article on the scholarship component of college baseball. Stretching Scholarship Dollars Key To College Success (baseballamerica.com) The lottery aspect is pretty interesting. I know Mississippi is not a lottery state while many of its neighboring SEC states do have some semblance of lottery scholarship funding. Makes life even more difficult in the SEC West.

I don't understand the specifics, really. The gist is that Vandy is essentially able to offer each player a full scholarship while most public institutions are forced to make due with dividing up 11.7 total scholarships amongst a roster of 35 players.

Vandy has a significant scholarship advantage over most other schools. That's why they are able to recruit effectively nationwide. I guess the academic reputation doesn't hurt.

Something you don't see every day.

Yep, can't beat that Gulf food. Totally different world down there from North Mississippi.

The Mississippi Gulf (and the Alabama gulf too) is very underrated. Great people in that state that love their baseball.

Interested in the State/Texas Tech matchup. I think that is a two-game midweek series being played at the minor league park in Biloxi. State has to right the ship after dropping two out of three at Tulane over the weekend and losing ace Landon Sims potentially for the season. Ole Miss learned yesterday it will be without star outfielder Kevin Graham for the next 4 weeks as he has surgery tomorrow on a fractured wrist. Pretty big blow, but that lineup is deep. I continue to be concerned about the starting pitching and think we could see an adjustment made as early as this weekend vs. Oral Roberts.

After losing 1-0 in 12 innings yesterday, Ole Miss leads UCF 6-1 and has 10 hits through 5 innings. Good bounce back.

What a Sunday start!